The Plainfield Central Wildcats will square off against the Minooka Indians at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Plainfield Central has five straight wins, Minooka has four straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Plainfield Central took a seven-run loss the last time they faced off against Plainfield South, but this time they managed to keep it close and that made all the difference. The Wildcats won by a run and slipped past the Cougars 4-3. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Wildcats have posted against the Cougars since May 12, 2022.
Jamie Crawford spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered three earned runs on seven hits and racked up seven Ks.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Ava Zitello, who went 3-for-4 with one stolen base, one run, and one double. That's the most hits she has posted since back in April. Evalyn Prochaska was another key player, going 1-for-4 with two runs and one stolen base.
Meanwhile, Minooka fell victim to Oswego and their airtight pitching crew on Monday. They came up short against the Panthers, falling 10-0. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest defeat the Indians have suffered since March 28th.
Plainfield Central pushed their record up to 16-12-1 with the win, which was their third straight on the road. The road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.0 runs over those games. As for Minooka, their loss dropped their record down to 21-12.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Tuesday. Plainfield Central hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.7 home runs per game. However, it's not like Minooka struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.9 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Plainfield Central suffered a grim 15-0 defeat to Minooka in their previous meeting back in April of 2024. Will the Wildcats have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other softball content.
